BOLD Cities

Peace and Security is increasingly becoming an urban issue. More than 50% of the world population already lives in cities and this figure is set to rise significantly in the coming decades. The more people live in urban agglomerations, the more likely we will witness the eruption of violence in cities. The developments in 2013 in Cairo and 2014 in Kiev are telling in this regard. Furthermore, commonly recognized military theory is already shifting into a new paradigm that acknowledges a ‘war amongst the people’.

This is defined as a shift towards a scenario whereby governments and military alike aim to capture the will of the people living in cities where war occurs. This is undoubtedly a consequence of global interconnectedness, the 24/7 media environment and instantaneous global communications.